Chapter 10
Jules took us to a small restaurant where we had a table isolated enough so that we could talk business. May was brought up to speed with the new structure and I could see that Jules was warming to the future.
I asked him to give May a raise and that slowed him just a little, until it came home to him that he was going to make a thousand pounds a dress more than his usual sales, without even needing to sweat over a drawing board.
Before I left them to talk further over dessert I told Jules that I had a window of opportunity between now and the start of next term in May to get as many of his richer clients in for their personal summer wardrobe.
Then I left them to it and went to find the label maker. It was tucked away in a little side street and, when I went in, the bell tinkled. I told them I wanted to order a box of labels with “Amity Creations by Amity’ and another with ‘Amity Creations by Helen’.
I intended that all future designs we put out of the shop would have the Helen label on them to denote that they were bespoke. The others I would use in anything I personally made, or had made. I was starting to think about designing High Street product and get others to make them up in different sizes and colours.
Over the next few weeks before term starting I went to as many art galleries as I could to absorb the vision and techniques of the masters and also some more contemporary works.
We had three titled ladies who made appointments for their very own Asquith dresses. May, now in a bigger room with two good dressmakers, had finished the boucle outfit which had, indeed, been a big hit in America as ‘funky yet fancy’ as one scribe put it.
The Baroness now had her spring wardrobe and Anna got her creation in time for her event. My bank balance was building nicely and I spent some taking May out to shows and, when we could, hotels.
Jules was looking happier as the days went on as the customers who found they couldn’t afford a bespoke design, plumped for one of his instead. To give him his due, he had learned his lesson and his own creations were less avant-garde and more aimed at the customer.
With all this going on as well as my time with the shop I hardly had much time with my family. I only got to the Friday evenings one in three weeks and often was not home between Friday and Sunday evening. My mother brought it down on me one morning when I was up in time for breakfast.
She demanded to know what was going on and I tried to explain that I was building a business, studying hard and diving deeper into my romance with May.
Suzette told me that Colette was upset that I hardly spoke to her these days and that I needed to relax a bit more. I countered her approach by asking her what she was going to do when she graduated from the LSE at the end of next term.
That set her back. “I don’t know yet. I suppose I will have to go around with my CV. I have had a look on the board at school but none of the jobs there looked exciting enough.”
I looked at her and asked. “How would you like to be the Finance Officer in an up and coming fashion house? You can work with me.”
“But you don’t have an up and coming fashion house.”
“How many weeks is it before you graduate? That’s almost enough time to build an empire.”
Back at the Chelsea I was given the course notes for the drawing course first term and then sat the half-written, half-drawn exam a couple of days later. On the way out I was given the notes for the second term and sat that the following week.
I found it easy to do the drawings as described as I could imagine them in completed form before I started. With my new-found concept of the less-is-more sketching I think that Leonardo would have been proud of my attempts.
I carried on with the Design classes but after Judith had given me my brief for this terms fashion show I only needed to attend her lessons to see the others in the class.
In the art class I started to learn how to use water colour and, in private, recreated my better dress designs in this medium and they looked great.
Jules called me in about once a week and he usually had a couple of appointments lined up for us, one after the other so it was keeping May busy with that. She and he were also getting very close to completing their collection of the Amity Creations by Jules fashion parade “based on the successful ‘Amity Designs’ dresses that have taken the fashion world by storm” and I had only needed to put in a few suggestions.
I was ordering photos from the fashion magazine with a regular phone call every issue. They had opened an account for me so it was not a surprise when one of their writers rang me to get an appointment for an interview with him and a photographer.
They had, of course, linked the Asquith name on the account with the Asquith name on the dresses. I wanted it to take place at a neutral venue and Jules suggested his studio.
By that time we had made about six dresses for Anna and, as I knew that she was a glutton for publicity, asked her if she would like to crash my interview on the excuse that she needed another outfit. I promised her that I would make her one myself.
On the day of the interview I was dressed nicely and we greeted the gentlemen of the press in the reception where we took them through to the studio, which had been tidied up a bit. The questions were very much along the lines of ‘how did you get so good so young’ and, when they moved into the making of the creations we got May in to take them through the process.
Of course, I mentioned my involvement with Helen at Redhill as well as our supplying Hector Livingstone with the stage clothes which were getting rave reviews in the entertainment press.
Once May joined us we put in shameless plugs for the upcoming fashion show and I got in with a plug of the one that would be at the Chelsea at the end of term.
The photographer had used three rolls of film by this stage and I hoped he had enough for when Anna turned up. And turn up she did.
The receptionist knocked on the door, put her head in and only just managed “Excuse me, Jules, but…” before Anna strode in like a tornado in one of my designs.
“Ooohh, press!” she cried “I’m all yours.”
One does not become a leading writer in a fashion magazine without realising that an impromptu interview with a famous actress is not an everyday occasion. The next half hour was all performance on everyones’ part.
Anna gushed about how good she felt in my designs and even got the writer to feel the fabric, thrusting her ample bosom at him. What she said as the interview started to wind up floored everyone else in the room.
“I just love speaking to you but I am actually here to talk to Amity, May and Jules about a little project of mine. We are starting to put together a movie that is set in the fashion industry. There will be bitchiness galore, love in twos, triangles and even squares; as well as some wonderful clothing that will make the film a classic. I have come to ask them if they are interested in supplying the wardrobe for the whole film.”
I hoped the photographer was as stunned as we were and didn’t get any pictures of us with our mouths hanging open. Jules, having been around a lot longer, was the first to react.
“Gentlemen, I think we could leave the offer in the interview but you, like everyone else, will have to wait for our answer. You do have a scoop and I can assure you that nothing will come out of this establishment until you have reaped the rewards of your ‘investigative reporting’. I think we need to now have a private talk with Miss Oubis to find out just how many items she is thinking of.”
The writer and photographer were escorted to the front door by him as May, me and Anna dissolved into laughter.
“That’s priceless,” May gasped, “It was a tour de force. How are we going to tell them when it falls through?”
“It was not a joke, May. It is a valid and honest offer that could be the turning point for all of us. I only looked at the script because it gave me a chance to play a serious part. You have no idea how getting to play the bimbo gets old quickly.”
I was sitting there with a lot on my mind. I then remembered an old pop movie I had seen on late night TV.
“There was an old pop movie set in the sixties that I have seen. Every dress in it was a Butterick pattern and it set the tone of the picture firmly in its era. Are you thinking of something set in the era of the movie, something with over-the-top creations or maybe a lot of simple but different designs that the girl in the street will want to wear?”
She replied that it would possibly be a mixture of all three and asked what I was thinking.
“I doubt that the public will believe that everyone in the film would be wearing high fashion outfits. I have been toying with the idea of designing High Street clothing that could be made in bulk by a third party with our own quality controls. We could get the bulk of the outfits that way with May and I creating the designs for the main characters and Jules can come up with designs that the fictional fashion house would be designing. That way we all play to our strengths and it would give the film a three-tiered look which the scriptwriters could work with.”
“I knew that you would be good value to know,” Anna said with a smile, “Let’s let Jules know what he is up for and then you and I can arrange for my very own Amity Design outfit, made for me by the wonderful Amity herself.”
I asked her if she would like to come to my house for Sunday lunch and we made a date for the following week. Before she left I asked her what she wanted and she said, “Something I wear every day, maybe a shift or shirt-waist; but definitely to remind me of the old days.”
I asked, “What old days?” and she thought of her time before she was a film star and was singing in a band.
“The band days,” she said quietly, “They were so much fun.”
“What era, the punk stuff or the sexy schoolgirl or, I know, the very early days when you wore the Egyptian stuff.”
“You’re spot on,” she said, “You have either looked me up or else you are a mind reader. Something from the ‘Anna Oubis and the Egyptians’ would definitely cheer me up.”
She left us to tell Jules what his part in the project was and I hugged May with a passion. She was trembling and I held her as she calmed down.
“Outfitting an Anna Oubis film, that is so far from what we are doing now it will take a lot of your magic to get it right.”
I said quietly, “Not magic, May, just a lot of hard work and careful preparation. I think it may be time for us to create a new company with the three of us as shareholders. We could raise the money for a stand-alone property with the film contract under our belt. I am sure that Jules will be part of it but we do need to allow him to come up with the idea himself. He is a good businessman and I am sure he won’t take long.”
He did stride in on us while we were still clutching each other and he raised his eyebrows.
“Poor May has been overcome with what went on today. I think she is settling now.”
She took the hint and we parted with her reaching for a tissue to dab her eyes. “What are we going to do, Jules, it will be huge!”
Jules patted her on the arm. “Don’t worry, May dear, I am sure we can come up with a way to make it work. All we need is signatures on a contract and we will be off and running. I think that the two of you would be better served in a new workshop as your involvement will be much greater than mine.”
May gave me a wink as she left to go back to her sewing room. Jules sat me down and said, “You set that up, didn’t you?”
I said that I had invited Anna to spice up the interview but after she had come in my script was thrown away.
“Before she left she outlined an idea which I like. I am able to create some of my weirder creations while you and May do the star outfits as well as making the general cast ones. Before I opened up as the House of Jules I was ordering third party fashions that I could sell at a lower price range. I still have friends in that industry. Do you want me to get them to call you?”
I laughed. “Jules, darling, you are a mind reader.”
Before going home I called in on Judith and told her that something may be printed in the fashion magazine that she could be interested in. I then went back to Redhill and called into the shop to chat with Helen. I also went and looked at my collection of personal fabrics and I found that I had bought a bolt end of a design based on rhomboids and stripes of Egyptian motifs.
I also had a bold fabric that would go with it. All I needed to see was which one worked better as a skirt. Before I went home I went to see Colette and make an appointment for a full make-over, seeing as I may be in the lime-light.
She asked me what I had been getting up to and I said, “A bit of this and that, lots of school work. A bit of designing when I get a chance. Actually, I have a customer coming around for Sunday lunch and then I will design her new dress. You may like to pop in and meet May as well. She and I are spending a lot of time together.”
Before the Sunday lunch Anna called to say that, if I didn’t mind, her husband was in town and would drive her down. I said that another seat at the table was not a bother and then started to plan the meal.
I told my mother that we would be having guests for lunch on Sunday. It would be May, one of my customers wanting a personally made dress and her husband. In Redhill I made sure I had all the makings for lunch.
As the weather was getting warmer now I opted for a cold cut, serve yourself table with lots of extras. Saturday I went and picked up May and got some drinks in on the way home.
As we were driving along I asked her if she knew who Annas’ husband was and she laughed. “Don’t you know? She is married to Cliff Bronson, the actor. He is a real dish and I lusted after him before I realised I was a lesbian.”
“Oh,” I said. “He is bringing her to lunch tomorrow.”
I reckoned that you could have heard her shriek on the other side of the dual carriageway. She shook and shuddered for a few moments and then said, “Girl, you really can tell them, last I heard he was in America making a new film.”
“Not joking, darling,” I smiled as I said it, “He is in town and she told me he was driving her down so I invited him to lunch as well.”
She twisted in the passenger seat and looked me straight in my ear. Well I couldn’t take my eyes off the road. “You are going to be the death of me, you know. I don’t know how many more shocks I can take. But, come to think about it, I am taking them more in my stride. Do you think that he may give us all a hug and a kiss before he goes?”
On Sunday morning May and I made ready. She had slept with me in my smallish bed but we had made it cosy. We both dressed and made up very nicely.
I told her that Colette from down the road may pop in and that she and I had gone to school together but that she was a couple of years ahead. I got my Mother and Suzette to dress nicely as well.
Suzette was sullen, saying, “Why all this preparation for just a customer?”
I took her outside and faced her. “Suzette, the people who are coming to lunch are not just customers. They are the key to our future. There is a project that we will talk about today that will ensure my, and perhaps your, future if you want to be part of it. I told you that I would put something in place to give you a job. Today you get a chance to see who I have been dealing with these last few months.”
When their car pulled into our driveway I went out to greet them. Anna gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek before introducing her husband, Cliff.
I saw straightaway why May had lusted after him and it made me nearly scream when, instead of shaking my hand, he pulled me into a hug and a kiss on the cheek, saying, “So I finally get to meet the famous Amity who my wife has been raving on about for too long now. I am now happy to put a pretty face to the name.”
May had been waiting by the door and he said “So this is the famous May, the goddess of the scissors and sewing machine.”
May nearly passed out when he pulled her to him and gave her a kiss as well. I think that there was one cheek that wasn’t going to get washed tonight. I ushered them both into the house where my mother was unsure how she should react.
Anna and Cliff put her and Suzette at ease by giving them both hugs and kisses. Suzette looked at me with a face of wonder as it sunk into her just where I now stood in the world. I served out drinks and we all tucked in to the cold collation.
My guests both said that they were happy that I had offered them something simple but so tasty, as so many times they had walked into dining rooms where the table was groaning with exotic foods that they both found hard to digest.
Of course, the chatter veered towards the project. Cliff said that he had looked at the script and he thought there could be a place in it for him as he wanted to act opposite his wife in a serious role.
Anna brought up the wardrobe ideas and I told her that Jules had suggested that we create a new company to manufacture the dresses and other clothing, with May and I moving into a new building to put together a team.
Cliff said that he had friends in the real estate business, having dabbled in it himself. He said he would get them to talk to me about the size and location. Anna said that it should be located close to the studio so we could react to any urgency.
My mother had been following this with interest and asked, “How many outfits are you talking about, twenty, fifty or more?”
Anna said, “Oh, at least a several hundred, it is going to be an extravaganza about the fashion industry. Jules will be creating the fashions that the company I work for. They will be avant-garde and a bit quirky. Amity and May will be providing all the outfits for me and, at least, five other stars and we will wear a different outfit in every scene as befits fashion icons. Then there are the general cast and the extras. We are planning a few crowd scenes and fashion shows so there may be a hundred outfits on any one set.”
Suzette was following this and the numbers spoke to her. “What budget do you have for costume?” she asked.
Anna smiled. “Ooohh, about ten million, tops. I we can get out of it for less we will be happy. Remember, this is a film about the industry so everything we wear needs to reflect that. Jules charges about fifteen hundred to two thousand for his items, the ones I have with Asquith Designs on the label set me back between two and a half to three, each. I still cherish the first one she designed for me and wear it when I want to feel good.”
I told my mother to sit and I will get a picture she can see, then went into my workroom and came back with the magazine portrait for her to look at.
Suzette was sitting quietly and Cliff looked at her and asked “Are you feeling all right? You look a little peaky.”
She smiled, “A few weeks back my sister asked me if I would work for her up and coming fashion label when I graduate. I laughed it off at the time, especially when she said it may take a few weeks.”
Anna said “If you are half as good as your sister in what you do, you will be OK with me, Suzette. I am sure we could work together, this family is awesome.”
Marianne Gregory © 2022
